United States

[[File:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], serving the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]], is the world's [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|busiest airport by passenger traffic]] with over 75 million passengers as of 2021.<ref name="BusyAirport">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-busiest-airports-2021/index.html |title=This US airport has reclaimed its title as the world's busiest |publisher=CNN |first=Marnie |last=Hunter |date=April 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |title=Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013—High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |archive-date=April 1, 2014 |date=March 31, 2014 |access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref>]]

[[File:Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport]], serving the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]], is the world's [[List of busiest airports by passenger traffic|busiest airport by passenger traffic]] with over 75 million passengers as of 2021.<ref name="BusyAirport">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-busiest-airports-2021/index.html |title=This US airport has reclaimed its title as the world's busiest |publisher=CNN |first=Marnie |last=Hunter |date=April 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |title=Preliminary World Airport Traffic and Rankings 2013—High Growth Dubai Moves Up to 7th Busiest Airport |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401052319/https://www.aci.aero/News/Releases/Most-Recent/2014/03/31/Preliminary-World-Airport-Traffic-and-Rankings-2013--High-Growth-Dubai-Moves-Up-to-7th-Busiest-Airport- |archive-date=April 1, 2014 |date=March 31, 2014 |access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref>]]

The United States has an extensive air transportation network. [[List of airlines of the United States|U.S. civilian airlines]] are all privately owned. The three largest airlines in the world, by total number of passengers carried, are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] became the global leader after its 2013 merger with [[US Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|title=Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA)|year=2011|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref> Among the busiest 50 airports in the world, 16 are in the United States, as well as five of the top 10.<ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report">{{cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/airports/statistics/statistics-general-info/annual-atr/ATR_2021.pdf|title=2021 Airport Traffic Report|work=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|date=April 2022|page=32}}</ref> The world's busiest airport by passenger volume is [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport|Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International]] in [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref name="BusyAirport" /><ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report" /> In 2022, most of the [[List of airports in the United States|19,969 U.S. airports]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of U.S. Airports |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/number-us-airportsa |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |access-date=December 15, 2023}}</ref> were owned and operated by local government authorities, and there are also some private airports. Some 5,193 are designated as "public use", including for [[general aviation]]. The [[Transportation Security Administration]] has provided security at most major airports since 2001.

The United States has an extensive air transportation network. [[List of airlines of the United States|U.S. civilian airlines]] are all privately owned. The three largest airlines in the world, by total number of passengers carried, are U.S.-based; [[American Airlines]] became the global leader after its 2013 merger with [[US Airways]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|title=Scheduled Passengers Carried|publisher=International Air Transport Association (IATA)|year=2011|access-date=February 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102034843/https://www.iata.org/publications/pages/wats-passenger-carried.aspx|archive-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref> Of the busiest 50 airports in the world, 16 are in the United States, as well as five of the top 10.<ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report">{{cite web|url=https://www.panynj.gov/content/dam/airports/statistics/statistics-general-info/annual-atr/ATR_2021.pdf|title=2021 Airport Traffic Report|work=Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|date=April 2022|page=32}}</ref> The world's busiest airport by passenger volume is [[Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport|Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International]] in [[Atlanta|Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref name="BusyAirport" /><ref name="PANYNJ 2021 report" /> In 2022, most of the [[List of airports in the United States|19,969 U.S. airports]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Number of U.S. Airports |url=https://www.bts.gov/content/number-us-airportsa |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |access-date=December 15, 2023}}</ref> were owned and operated by local government authorities, and there are also some private airports. Some 5,193 are designated as "public use", including for [[general aviation]]. The [[Transportation Security Administration]] has provided security at most major airports since 2001.

[[Rail transport in the United States|The country's rail transport network]], the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|longest]] in the world at {{cvt|293564.2|km|order=flip}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/railways/country-comparison |title=Railways – The World Factbook |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=July 14, 2022 |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124012056/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2121rank.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> handles mostly [[Freight transport|freight]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM |title=Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2021 |access-date=February 16, 2021 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=April 24, 2017 |title=Amtrak at a Junction: Invest in Improvements, or Risk Worsening Problems |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> (in contrast to more passenger-centered rail in Europe<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847 |title=Comparing European and American Transport |author=The Antiplanner |date=May 13, 2016}}</ref>). Because they are often privately owned operations, U.S. railroads lag behind those of the rest of the world in terms of electrification.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://brownpoliticalreview.org/us-railroads-lag-behind-the-world-in-railroad-electrification-and-the-reason-is-private-ownership/|website=[[Brown Political Review]]|title=US Railroads Lag Behind the World in Railroad Electrification, and the Reason is Private Ownership|first=Maddock|last=Thomas|date=March 7, 2023|access-date=March 9, 2025}}</ref>

[[Rail transport in the United States|The country's rail transport network]], the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|longest]] in the world at {{cvt|293564.2|km|order=flip}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/railways/country-comparison |title=Railways – The World Factbook |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=July 14, 2022 |archive-date=November 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124012056/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2121rank.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> handles mostly [[Freight transport|freight]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM |title=Seasonally Adjusted Transportation Data |publisher=Bureau of Transportation Statistics |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2021 |access-date=February 16, 2021 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422132507/https://www.transtats.bts.gov/osea/seasonaladjustment/?PageVar=RAIL_PM }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=April 24, 2017 |title=Amtrak at a Junction: Invest in Improvements, or Risk Worsening Problems |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/nyregion/amtrak-infrastructure-crisis.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref> (in contrast to more passenger-centered rail in Europe<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ti.org/antiplanner/?p=11847 |title=Comparing European and American Transport |author=The Antiplanner |date=May 13, 2016}}</ref>). Because they are often privately owned operations, U.S. railroads lag behind those of the rest of the world in terms of electrification.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://brownpoliticalreview.org/us-railroads-lag-behind-the-world-in-railroad-electrification-and-the-reason-is-private-ownership/|website=[[Brown Political Review]]|title=US Railroads Lag Behind the World in Railroad Electrification, and the Reason is Private Ownership|first=Maddock|last=Thomas|date=March 7, 2023|access-date=March 9, 2025}}</ref>